Pneumonia and Respiratory Infections Still a Danger in the Summer

Pneumonia and Respiratory Infections Still a Danger in the Summer

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Even though illnesses like respiratory infections, colds, the flu and pneumonia are all things that happen more often during the winter, they are still very likely to happen during the late spring and early summer months. People who already have respiratory conditions, such as asthma and COPD are naturally more affected than those with normally functioning lungs. This is even more dangerous with people who have compromised immune systems, on top of the lung diseases.

When anyone else catches a cold or a respiratory infection, they feel bad for a few days, take some antibiotics are are fine. Pneumonia and the flu can be dangerous for the elderly especially, no matter if they have a chronic lung disease or not. Even a cold can send someone with asthma or COPD to the hospital, because of the irritation and excessive production of mucus making it increasingly difficult to breathe. It can bring on acute asthma flare-ups and COPD exacerbations.

During the winter, we are more susceptible to illnesses because of the dryness in the air, as well as the fact that we are in closer quarters indoors with many other people, making it much easier to spread the sicknesses. The circulation of air via a furnace and ducts can also cause illness if the intake air or the ducts contain bacteria.

In the summertime, we may be able to go outside more often for fresh air, but we also need to consider the things that can get us sick during this time of year. Bacteria from mold in the outdoors can run rampant during times when it rains frequently, such as it often does in the late spring and early summer. Mold spores and outdoor bacteria can be a main source of cases of respiratory infections or pneumonia during the summertime.

If you still spend a lot of time indoors with people during the summer, in school or in the workplace, there is still a good chance that sicknesses can be spread. If an air conditioning unit is running that hasn’t been properly cleaned from the year before, this can be a major source of infection-causing bacteria. An AC unit must be thoroughly cleaned before it can be used for the first time at the beginning of summer, or you are setting yourself up for a early summer sickness.

Contrary to what you may have heard and even experienced, a change in temperature does not cause you to get sick. You can only get sick from either a bacteria or by catching a virus from someone else. The reason you might have gotten a cold in the late spring or early summer, is because when it gets chilly, you probably went indoors and increased your chances of catching a bug that someone else had, even if they weren’t showing any symptoms yet.

Even during the summer, you need to still do the things that help prevent you from getting sick, such as washing your hands frequently and cleaning commonly touched surfaces with rubbing alcohol.

Information on this page is for reference and educational purposes only. For more information talk to your doctor or primary care provider.

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Scott joined American Medical Sales and Rentals in 2008 as a Web Manager and Content Writer. He is a writer and designer. He is extensively trained on oxygen therapy products from leading manufacturers such as Inogen, Respironics, Chart, Invacare, ResMed and more.

Scott works closely with respiratory therapists and oxygen specialists to educate the community about oxygen therapy products, COPD, asthma and lung diseases. He writes weekly columns and is passionate about educating the community on oxygen therapy and respiratory issues.

About Scott Ridl:

Scott joined American Medical Sales and Rentals in 2008 as a Web Manager and Content Writer. He is a writer and designer. He is extensively trained on oxygen therapy products from leading manufacturers such as Inogen, Respironics, Chart, Invacare, ResMed and more. Scott works closely with respiratory therapists and oxygen specialists to educate the community about oxygen therapy products, COPD, asthma and lung diseases. He writes weekly columns and is passionate about educating the community on oxygen therapy and respiratory issues.

2 thoughts on “Pneumonia and Respiratory Infections Still a Danger in the Summer

  1. What you’ve said is so true. We usually tend to believe that we are more prone to suffering from respiratory infections and pneumonia during the cold winter months and because of that we tend to take better precautions during this time. However we tend to get careless about these things when it is warm and sunny simply because we think nothing will happen. However, as we’ve seen, things do happen in summer too and it really pays to be careful. Of course, I had to learn that the hard way but I won’t make that mistake again in a hurry.

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